Evening Stars
by bonegeisha
Summary: Tuffnut's having alot of trouble sleeping lately...he guesses it has to do with all this pent up energy in him...Sneaking out for late night walks only helps so much...but, what's Hiccup doing this late at night? --TuffUp -- cute fluff --some cursing


"If you cut me, I suppose I would bleed the colors of the evening stars..."

Tuffnut smirked to himself as he slid out of his bunk, slowly edging down the crude ladder at the foot of the connected beds. He had the top bunk, but it hadn't come easy, and Ruffnut still liked to give him hell for winning it. He paused at the base of the ladder, hand still lightly resting on one of the thick beams that created a solid rung. He peered through the pieces of wood with slitted eyes, studying his still twin's form. He watched the sheets rise and fall over her small breasts, measuring the spaces between breaths to see if she was faking the slumber.

After a few seconds he nodded to himself in satisfaction, tell-tale grin tugging at the corner of his lips once again. He started around the bed, clumsily dodging the floorboards he knew creaked, unable to stop himself from stepping on the edges of a few anyways. Once he got to their bedroom door he cracked it, fiery light falling in a thin ray across the rich wooden flooring. Pausing one last time, for good measure, he glanced over his shoulder at the still sleeping girl. She looked so much more pleasant when she was lost in sleep.

The emerald green Terrible Terror, that had attached itself to him after that fateful day in the training arena, perked its head up from atop Ruffnut's stomach. Tuffnut locked eyes with the little dragon, knowing it was almost as clumsy as he was. Steel gray bore into golden rod yellow, trying to convey a threatening message of "don't move", and failing. The creature scrambled up, flapping its way across the room to him with excited bug eyes and a wide grin. He grimaced and put a hand over his face, gripping the edge of the door with an annoyed hand.

He felt the animal's pin-prick claws scratching at the skin of his shoulder through the wool of his vest, attempting to gain purchase. Groaning Tuffnut walked out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind himself before stalking down the hallway, muttering curses to the oblivious dragon under his breath. If Ruffnut had woken up...if she had caught him...she'd skewer him and eat his heart for breakfast as she told their parents she had caught him sneaking out again. Thank Odin she was a hard sleeper.

Tuffnut got to the door and sat down, grabbing his boots and tugging them on quickly, jerking the laces in his haste to tie them. Fang wriggled down his sinewy arm, wobbling every time Tuffnut moved, sinking his little talons deeper into the boy's bare skin as he did. Tuffnut winced, grabbing the dragon by its spiked back and putting it on the other side of him, safely on the floor, before jerking his second boot on with furrowed brows.

Fang tilted his head at the twin, licking one of its eyes before blinking curiously. "Just goin' for a walk, runt." Tuffnut stood up, straightening his vest on his shoulders before grabbing his helmet off a peg near the front door and pushing it onto his blonde head. The little dragon skittered backwards a bit, cowering as Tuffnut smirked maliciously down at him. He knew the dragons didn't like the things, but he was a viking dammit, and no viking could be pulled away from his helmet.

He rubbed the top of Fang's head a bit groughly, laughing beneath his breath before opening the door and stepping out into the crisp air of midnight. Fang blinked at the now closed door, straightening its neck out and tilting its head again as it tried to decide what its master really was going to do. Then it turned and waddled back to the twins' bedroom, scratching at the door softly before resigning to curling up in the hallway and waiting on the boy to come let him back in.

Hiccup shivered lightly as the wind breezed across his face, tossing strands of auburn hair into his eyes. He pushed the stray strands behind his ears again, looking up into the cloudless sky as he did. How many nights did he stand here and stare at this sky? Wishing there was a dragon in it that even HE could shoot down. And how lucky was he that he shot down the one and only Night Fury? Right here on this hilltop? If it hadn't been for that one clear, fateful night, he never would be where he was today...He supposed that was why he felt he should come back here every now and then and pay homage to whatever god saw and blessed him that night.

Tiredly he sat down, resting his bad leg for a moment before making the trek back down. The grass was soft and cool beneath his fingertips, the damp dew sending a comfortable chill up his spine. He would've invited Toothless out here with him, usually the ebon dragon followed him everywhere, but he had given the creature the night off tonight. He had left him sleeping at home with his father and the tiny Terrible Terror his father had recently adopted. The Night Fury had spent all day flying around with him, working on a few new aerial maneuvers, and was now passed out on his bedroom floor. There was no point in waking him up before the sun rose.

Tuffnut kicked a pebble down the path as he trudged along, hands shoved deep in his vest pockets and head hung in his usual thuggish slump. He hadn't been able to sleep tonight. He hadn't been able to sleep the past few nights, actually. He supposed it had something to do with this new restlessness blooming inside of his chest, but he wasn't any kind of doctor. Stretching his legs in a walk usually seemed to help, but tonight he felt sluggish and slow. The empty village was always a bit of a lonely reminder too; he was the only one up and aching at this hour.

Slowly veering from the path and starting up a grassy knoll he paused when he caught sight of movement ahead of him. Lifting his head the blonde spotted Hiccup sitting at the top of the hill. He had his legs thrown over the side and was resting back on his hands, looking up at the stars. Tuffnut, still rooted to the spot, tilted his head to the side and squinted, trying to figure out why the little hero was by himself at such an hour. He rarely ever saw the brunette without Toothless at his side; it was so common you almost forgot they hadn't been together all their lives. A gust of wind tossed a thick loch of hair in his face, making him growl and shove it back behind his ear before stomping up the hill. Some part of him was pissed off that Hiccup was out here when HE was supposed to be the only one out here at this time of night, and the other part of him was strangely excited to see someone else.

"Hey, dork! What're YOU doing up?" Hiccup jumped at the harsh voice intruding upon his solitude. He turned around to find Tuffnut grinning and quickly advancing on him. "Isn't it past your bedtime?" Hiccup's eyes narrowed at the insult, a huff quietly leaving his nose before he turned back around and folded his arms over his chest. "What do YOU want, Tuff?" The brunette almost snarled as the tall boy finally stopped at his side, putting his hands on his hips and looking out over the ocean too. "Ah, nothin'. Just wonderin' what a gimp like you is doin' out here at a time like this." Hiccup's glare met Tuffnut's smirk as soon as he whipped his head up at the twin.

"What's with the insults?! What the hell did I do to you?!" The smaller boy barked, his body jerking a little with the force of his words. Tuffnut held up his over sized hands in surrender, "Whoa, now, I didn't mean to get you all riled up, Hicca. Just screwin' around." He laughed before bending to muff the boy's mahogany colored hair. Hiccup leaned away, angrily swatting at the hand before the blonde plopped into the grass right beside him. He pulled his legs up and crossed them Indian style, leaving Hiccup alone long enough to hitch a hand on either side of a leg.

"Seriously though, what ARE you doing out here?" Tuffnut turned and looked back out over the ocean, watching the stars dance in the waves. He had never really paused to look at the ocean on his walks. Just paced the village and went back to bed with ever restless legs. Hiccup furrowed his brow, muttering something before looking off to the other side of the cliff. Tuffnut lifted his brows and looked over at his peer, "Huh? You say somethin'?" Hiccup looked back to him, frowning again in a way that was more cute than threatening. "I SAID, "shouldn't I be asking YOU the same thing?"..." Tuffnut shrugged and looked back at the stars, smirking again.

"You're so grumpy." Hiccup had the same look on his face that Ruffnut did 9 times out of 10; he looked like he was about to blow a gasket. Tuffnut ignored him though, shrugging one more time before dropping his hands into his lap and hunching forward into the breeze. "I 'onno why I'm out here. Guess I just...couldn't sleep, you know?" Hiccup's features softened slightly as he realized the twin was trying to have a conversation with him. He studied the boy, looking over the long features that created his angular face, and noticing for the first time, the deep black rings around his usually vibrant eyes.

Hiccup reached for the taller boy's shoulder, his hand pausing midway, fingers curling inwards in hesitation. He had never honestly had a full fledged conversation with Tuffnut, let alone both the Thorston twins. And, for the first time, he also noticed he didn't really know the boy at all. "Do you know why?" Hiccup sighed and looked at his lap, dropping his hands to his own thighs before slowly swinging his legs over the cliff edge. Tuffnut looked back over at him with a halfheartedly arched brow, "Huh?" Hiccup sighed and put a hand to his forehead, closing his eyes and trying to remember that he was attempting to make this a pleasant conversation. "I said, "do you know why?" Like, do you have restless leg syndrome or something?"

Tuffnut leaned back on one arm again, leaning a bit closer than he needed to. "Bad dreams, maybe?" Hiccup almost lost his last words to the wind, having trouble getting them around the new lump forming in his throat. Thor knew HE had bad dreams enough to keep him awake for nights on end; he had his good weeks and his bad weeks. Tuffnut rolled his head on his shoulder, looking up at Hiccup for once, letting the brunette get an even closer look at his face. "Nah, I think I just am restless on the inside...you know? Like...I don't know what to DO with myself anymore..." Tuffnut's countenance was easier than Hiccup had ever seen it. He didn't look like he was going to spit venom at you or clobber you over the head with a shield. He just looked, tired.

Hiccup turned and looked back up at the sky, leaning on his right arm a little too, attempting to put a little more space between him and the blonde's agile body. "Yeah, I can understand that...I mean, you ARE a viking..." He shrugged too, catching the subtle nod Tuffnut gave out the corner of his eye. A breeze whistled over them, brushing the twin's hair over his shoulder, its ends landing on Hiccup's thin fingers to tickle it in the grass. The boy looked down at his hand, catching a musky scent of dirt, iron, blood, and sweat. Tuffnut even smelt like a viking...like a man...a very strong, very powerful, man. Hiccup blinked and quickly looked back at the stars, straining to find constellations he recognized in order to distract his mind from the weird thoughts.

"I AM a viking, dammit." The auburn haired boy looked back over at the blonde, lifting his brows in recognition of the spoken words. Tuffnut was frowning up at the skies, as if lost in his own battle with whatever gods were watching them. "I mean, I was raised to kill. I was raised to slay and slaughter. I'm a VIKING." Hiccup blinked, slowly looking down at his lap, suddenly interested in a pick in his leggings. "My WHOLE LIFE was about killing dragons. So...now that we're friends with them, what the hell am I supposed to do?" Tuffnut jerked up into sitting position, glaring up at the inky black above them, brandishing his fist at the pin points of light.

"What the FUCK am I supposed to do NOW?! Huh?!" Hiccup blinked in surprise again, staring in slight shock and awe at the sudden outburst from the teen. "Answer me, dammit! What the hell do you expect me to do NOW?!" Tuffnut dropped his fist to the ground, hitting the dirt a few times before snatching at a handful of grass. Hiccup sat silently, letting the boy rant to the gods and whoever else he felt like ranting to; he knew it felt good to just yell sometimes.

Tuffnut slumped again, scowling at the blades of grass he was ripping up one by one, letting them fly into the wind after he had torn them into shreds. "I don't eat, I barely sleep...I fight more with Ruff now than I ever have...All because I can't fight anywhere else." Slowly he turned and looked at Hiccup again, surprising the brunette into jumping a little. "I-I uh..." Hiccup swallowed hard, caught off guard by the fact that he thought the boy had forgotten he was here. After a moment Tuffnut looked away, legs falling over the cliff's edge now too, head hung low over his lap as he tore up a few more blades of grass.

Hiccup sighed and scooted a little closer to the lithe boy, looking at his lap and feet too. "Look...Tuff...I-I never meant to ruin anything for you. I didn't mean for all of this to happen...it just sort've...did..." Hiccup shrugged, fiddling with his fingers as he spoke, hunched forward just as far as the other boy. Tuffnut shrugged, glancing over at him with a heavy sigh. "I'm not blaming you, Hicca...Well, I kinda am..." Hiccup cringed slightly, but stopped when he saw a stray grin pulling over the twin's lips as he spoke. "I like the dragons. They're great. Annoying, but great. I mean, me, Fang, and Snuff and Snort are real great at doin' stuff together..."

He shrugged again though, the motion a smooth roll of his broad shoulders that drew Hiccup's attention to the taut muscles he could see through the large armhole in the boy's vest. "I just don't know what to do when it's just ME...you know?" Tuffnut turned to look at him again, brows lifted once more, and Hiccup blinked as the words took their time settling in. This time he smiled softly, reaching out and finally touching the boy's solid arm. The warmth beneath his fingertips sent shivers down his spine that he bit back with another smile. "You'll find something, Tuff. You're great at alot of other things than just slaying."

Hiccup shrugged again, a much smaller movement than Tuffnut's own, and let his hand slide back to the grass between them. He blushed softly in the moonlight, able to feel the boy's eyes roving over him without shame. "Yeah, I am, aren't I?" Hiccup looked back to the twin with slightly surprised eyes, the sudden tone in his voice the usual cocky and confidant one he knew all too well. Tuffnut straightened up and grinned out at the ocean and reflected night sky, cracking his back with a swift jerk to the left, then the right. "I mean, I AM Tuffnut Thorston after all. Ladies man and best viking ever." He finished his stretch by reaching his long arms above his head and hooking his nimble fingers together, pulling his spine straight before falling backwards into the fragrant grass. He continued to grin up at the stars as Hiccup looked down at him, a smile playing in his eyes that he was afraid to let transfer to his face.

"I'll get into Valhalla if it's the last thing I do...even if I don't slay dragons." Hiccup slowly looked down at the grinning Thorston, surprise once more flickering across his face. "Tuff, is THAT what this was all about? You weren't having an identity crises, you were just scared you wouldn't get into Valhalla?" Tuffnut turned to face Hiccup with the usual smug smirk that either made the boy want to run and hide or punch the taller boy in the face. "Of course! I mean, I know who I am, Hicca." His grin reached his ears he looked like he was having so much fun. Hiccup, on the other hand, was NOT smiling anymore.

"I just was worried Thor was goin' to try and keep me outta his Dad's hall. But, seriously? I 'onno why I was so worried. You're right, I'm Tuffnut Thorston. Even if I DON'T die in battle, I'll GET into Valhalla." He turned and looked back up at the sky, still grinning as he folded his arms behind his head and settled down into the dewy grass. Hiccup sighed heavily, turning to look out at the languid waves one more time as he realized he had just made a fool of himself.

He tensed at the sudden feel of a worn, calloused hand on his own, the fingers warmly closing around his in a loose grip. Slowly he turned and looked down at his hand, now buried beneath the scarred hand of the boy twin. Even slower he turned and looked back at Tuffnut's face, seeing the blonde's eyes closed and head relaxed with oncoming sleep. Hiccup's eyes softened even more as his own body relaxed at the feel of the boy's surprisingly gentle touch and he slowly brushed his thumb over Tuffnut's knobby knuckles; his blush from earlier only deepening.

"Course...now that I talked to you...I feel like I can sleep again, Hicca..." Tuffnut mumbled softly, shifting in the grass as he comfortably rolled into the welcome abyss of sleep. "You know?" Hiccup sighed lightly, turning and looking at the moon again, still brushing his thumb over the strange boy's knuckles. "I suppose I do..." He nodded lightly, smiling to himself as he slowly took to swinging his legs again, the iron of his new appendage creaking quietly in the wind.


End file.
